Oil rises near $88; natural gas jumps 4 percent

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil rose from a four-month low Thursday, while natural gas soared to the highest level in 21 months on signs of robust demand for the fuel.

Benchmark oil for May delivery rose $1.05, or 1.2 percent, to finish at $87.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil dropped $2.04, or 2.3 percent, on Wednesday — the fourth daily drop of at least 2 percent in April.

Concerns over global economic growth have caused the price of oil and other commodities to drop sharply. This week China reported slower-than-expected economic growth while the International Monetary Fund lowered its outlook for world economic growth for this year.

Natural gas futures rose 19 cents, or 4.4 percent, to end at $4.40 per 1,000 cubic feet. The last time natural gas hit that level was July 2011.

Supplies typically rise in the spring, but last week's increase was less than analysts expected. Homeowners in some parts of the country still needed to turn the heat on as temperatures dropped below normal.

Gas pump prices drifted down again, to a national average of $3.51 a gallon. That's a nickel lower than a week ago and almost 39 cents below the average a year ago.

In London, Brent crude, which is used to price oil used by many U.S. refiners, was up $1.44, or 1.5 percent, to finish at $99.13 on the ICE Futures exchange.

In other energy futures trading on Nymex:

— Gasoline rose 3 cents to end at $2.76 per gallon.

— Heating oil rose 4 cents to finish at $2.78 a gallon.

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Pamela Sampson in Bangkok and Pablo Gorondi contributed to this report.